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' A. J. JOHNSON.

STEP LADDER.

No. 309,626. Patented Deo. 23, 1884.

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ANDREXV'J. JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES O. GARDNER,OF SAME PLACE.

STEPm-LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,626, dated December231, 1884.

Application filed May 24, 1884.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern/.-

Beit known that I, ANDREW J. JOHNSON, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Step-Ladders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description t-hereof, reference beinghad to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to stepladdcrs having legs or braces pivoted atthe upper end or at the bracket/7 and primarily concerns the devices forthe arrest of the legs in their extended position.

It consists in certain features of construction, hereinafter described,and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a step-ladderconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryside View enlarged. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionv through as a of Fig.2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one desirable form of metal supportfor the pivot of the step-brace.

A A are the step uprights or standards. B is the top strip or platform.O O are brackets rigidly secured to the inner faces of thestep-standards and to the under face of the step B. D D are the legs orbraces, pivoted at d to the outer faces of the brackets O O, at the rearof the standards. The brace-legs are pivoted to the brackets C O,preferably at such points upon the latter as to fold rather closelyagainst or near the rear edges of the step-standards, as indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 3, and at a distance of a few inches from the upperends of said legs. To permit the said legs, thus pivoted, to be thrownoutward, the stepstandards are cut away at the rear of their upper ends,forming faces a, of such an inclination as it is desired to give thelegs and standards when extended. This allows the upper ends, d', of thelegs to move forward as the feet thereof are thrown back, and the saidinclined faces a of the standards form stops, which arrest the legs intheir extended position. The usual contrivances of toggle-links, hooks,or cords for preventing spread of the ladder when in use are thusdispensed with, not only cheapening the construction of the laddermaterially, but rendering its manipulation very convenient and adding toits durability.

(No model.)

The pivotsupporting plates, as herein shown,

are riveted or bolted to the standards A, and are upwardly extended andappropriately formed to also fasten to the under side of the step I3 byscrews. Each of said plates is further shown as having its rear verticaledge turned inwardly to form a. flange, e, which rests against thebracket. Thus constructed, the parts joined mutually strengthen eachother materially.

' The plates E may be of sheet metal or of malleable iron, as preferred.

As shown, the brackets O are of wood, nailed both to the step-standardsand to the top step, B; but they may be of malleable iron and secured tothe several parts in the usual way .by screws or otherwise.

The pivoted pail-shelf F is constructed with armsff, which engage theadjacent steps, a', in a familiar manner, to hold the legs eX- tended,and nothing is independently claimed upon this feature of the ladder.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination, with brackets O O, andbrace-legs D, pivoted below their ends to said brackets, of step-standards secured to the brackets and beveled to form stops for theupper ends of the legs when the latter are eX- tended, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with the brackets,

brace-legs pivoted thereto, and the beveled stepstandards secured to thebrackets on the same side thereof as the legs, of plates E, supportingthe ends of the pivots, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the brackets, the top step, brace-legs pivotedto the brackets, and beveled step-standards fixed to the brackets, offixed pivot-plates E, secured to the standards and top step,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW J. JOHNSON.

IVitnesses:

M. E. DAYTON, OLIvnn E. PAGIN.

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